Gegenji

I'm getting the feeling that the topic of the thread is less on deriding Dragoons for jumping or saying that those who play Dragoons are bad and should feel bad, and moving towards trying to put together their own reasonings for how the Jump is done to fill our own need to have things explained. Not to yell at Dragoons for "DOIN' IT WRONG" but as to fluff our own person head-canon on how it works. So far, I've seen straight training, tapping into aether, and possibly even outside augments to explain the jump up. I've presented the throwing yourself option for the coming down, but other options have included creating a aetheric "bounce pad" to rebound off of. There's been questions of accuracy, of exactly when a Dragoon "obtains" their ability to do the Jump and so on. So I'm thinking it's less punishing and more questioning so we could muse upon the answers and maybe put together an explanation that could be considered lore-appropriate. Of course, just because we come up with one hardly means that our solution is the end-all, be-all or that SE won't provide their own explanation later (or just leave it nebulous!). I was able to come up with the Whelp-squire idea for the learning aspect of things, so I'm rather happy with the result. Basically, it's less saying how a Dragoon CAN'T Jump like they do mechanically in an RP situation, but to try and come up with clever explanations on how they COULD. Keep to the positives, be creative, have fun!

The sudden treat caused most of Gran's ire to evaporate away like the morning dew on Thanalanian grasses. Being used to treats in the jerked meat variety, though, he was surprised to be presented with one that was so much more colorful. And smelled so much differently. He snuffled at the carrot piece proffered to him, trying to figure out what it was and - more importantly - if he could eat it. Sight test and smell test both came back inconclusive, but he had seen the bipeds noshing on it so it couldn't be all that bad. A small rumbling in his belly further cemented his willingness to give it a try. One more tentative sniff and the baby behemoth daintily took the treat into his mouth. And then Gran proceeded to eat it in the noisiest way possible. Unfamiliar with the more rigid and unyielding texture of the carrot, the little porker crunched and munched at it with deliberate opening and closings of his mouth to ensure proper mastication. His eyes were pointed downward at his own snout, as if trying to watch himself consume the strange treat. Only after doing this for what might seem as an excessively long time did Gran swallow it. And decide that he preferred the jerky treats Chachanji gave him as a snack more, while his tummy rumbled for something more filling. As if to answer his porcine wish, the assortment of meats arrived. Their current waiter hung back as a heftier fellow presented a wide assortment of roasted and grilled delights. The smell immediately set Gran to drooling, and more than willing to try to escape Steel Wolf's grasp to partake like the little piggy he was. It was only after it was all tabled that their timid waiter approached again, holding a small bowl of what looked like pressed-together balls of meat scraps. "And... ah... for your pet..." he intoned, placing the bowl gently in front of the Roegadyn and her purple bundle. A closer inspection would indeed show that they were little more than leftover bits of other meat dishes that had been churned up and shaped into little spheres, perfect for consumption by a growing baby behemoth. Being as savvy as she was, Momodi had sought to think of a catchy name for the things, should she find a market for them as treats for the various other pets adventurers seemed to be traveling around with these days. Ballhemoths, Behemeaties, Minyums, an entire list of rejected ideas was scribbled down on a scrap of parchment somewhere in the Lalafell's possession. It was only when she overheard Gran's owner talking about teaching the little porker to throw rocks like the bigguns that she was struck with horrible, horrible inspiration. Meateors.

Climbing up into the sky on the backs of a hundred people hunched over their desks, trying to write out the numbers and equations to explain how Dragoons do what they do.

I'm nowhere near a veteran of FFXIV RP but... 1.) I've seen people switch between jobs as the skillsets are needed - NIN for stealth and sneaky stuff, caster classes for spells. And more than a few that know one "Job" and are working on learning another - learning different magic types, learning to use an axe over sword and board. I think as long as you can reasonably explain it, you... should?... be fine? 2.) The zones are actually divided up decently well, so I don't think that issue comes up very much. A good section of Ul'dah is all in one area, for example, so people in the Quicksand tavern can hear a citizen shouting for help catching a robber along one of the streets outside. The distance that normal conversation and emotes is a bit more limited, but there's yells and even shouts to spread out to wider ranges. 3.) There's a lot of fun emotes, I know I like to use a lot of them. Changing standing positions, facial expressions, full on movements. There's a lot and I often find myself popping open the emote window so I can remember how to do various ones. You can sit on chairs and stools and benches or just sit on the floor, and many of the emotes can be done from those positions as well (and are marked as such in the emote window)! I don't believe there's a smoking animation, but a lot of the shortfalls of the game can be hand-waved with a descriptive enough default /em emote. Also, that emote is of a Tonberry, a rather famous Final Fantasy enemy. It and the Cactaur (the dancing green cactus thing) are two of my favorite creatures in Final Fantasy. :thumbsup: I hope that helps!

Maybe there IS a "Dragoon Academy" or training period that just hasn't been pointed out yet due to the Player Character effectively cheating his skills into play with the Soul Crystal? Much like with normal knights, perhaps Dragoons have their own squire-types (I'll call them "whelps" for the dragon correlation and because it makes me feel witty). You don't become a Dragoon officially until you slay a dragon according to the lore, but that doesn't mean you couldn't have these Whelps learning how to make use of the skills that a Dragoon would need to slay their sworn enemies. Then the slaying of a dragon is more of a rite of passage and graduation, and the learning of the abilities is now a more progressive thing instead of something sudden like its presented in-game. ... Or maybe there's lore counteracting all that which I overlooked. Either or. I just think the Whelp to Dragoon idea might be a feasible answer if allowed. Or, heck, maybe something like it will be mentioned in Heavensward! :blush: EDIT: Also suddenly a bunch of posts that weren't there when I was typing this!

I tend to try to limit my usage of "aether" as an explanation to situations that involve what aether is presented to be used for - magic and magical effects. Black Magic, White Magic, Arcanima, Summoning... all of that is easily pointed to as using aether. In the MNK story quest, unlocked chakras are also tentatively linked to aether through the quest-giver. So, a lot of the superhuman aspects of MNKs I can explain away as tapping into one's one aether. Inner Beast could possibly fall under this. By extension, you could also consider any great feats of strength to either training or using one's natural aetheric resources (possibly one allowing you to do the other!) What I try to avoid doing is using aether as the stopgap reasoning for things in place of a more thought out solution. If it can be reasonably explained with aether, that's fine. Using aether as the equivalent of a shrug, though, not so much.

...are you familiar with the excellent peasant railgun? It's not a gun that shoots peasants as I'd initially hoped, but... We can kill Nidhogg by commissioning an army of progressively-larger dragoons all jumping and throwing the next dragoon on the way down. Being the massive roleplaying nerd I am, yes. Yes I am. I am also enough of a nerd to suggest that should such a tactic be devised by the Ishgardians, it be called the Drag-Gun. Fire the Drag-Gun! (Or the equally dorky "Goon Serve.") Cue cutscene of a Dragoon falling, his armor glowing white from his speed through the air. He hits the target. Freeze frames of everyone nearby. Ultima explosion.

Related, lighthearted question: If you "fastball special" a Lalafell Lancer (especially if the thrower is a big ol' Roe), would that be like "Dragoon Lite"? Bonus points if you actually throwing them at a dragon. Or are yourself either Ishgardian or a Dragoon. Basically, I kinda want to do a FF9-style (Or FF6 Umaro-style) joint attack that involves someone throwing a Lala at a problem to solve it.

It still scares me to do that sometimes, so don't feel bad if you get nervous about doing it. Also, sometimes just doing oddball things will draw people in. I got into a... rather amusing RP recently just from having Chachan running around the Quicksand like a dork. High-strung dude who wanted to be a 'Sworn flipped and was shouting about how the Lala would trip and bust his head open and die... or trip up someone else with similar results. :lol: It was both goofy and entertaining that Chachan was the straight man in the situation.

That's a much more elegant solution for the second half than my "throw the spear but not" angle I mentioned earlier. :surprise:

^That's me. I leeched onto a couple people and slowly expanded. ...I've had about 6 months to do it, so my network's got quite a few people. The downside to wanting to RP with lots of people is itself though. How does one manage to RP with everyone?! I need their scheduling secrets I... I think that's kinda what I'm doing. I managed to start some RPs with a couple folks and Chachan's acquaintances have slowly begun to balloon out from there.

We can rebuild him. We have the magiteknology. He'll be stronger. Faster. Jumpier. More Randy Savage than ever before.

If I recall my Leves correctly, I believe there actually is mention of a Baert Company in North Thanalan, so at least you're not without precedent with this idea. Plus, I think that description can also describe plenty of factions in Ul'dah. Most of the factions in Ul'dah, really. :lol: Playing the antagonist is always a dangerous game, but plenty of folks seem to have done it without too much trouble both in the game itself and here on the forums. I suppose the only thing I would want to ask is how consistent will the antagonism be and at what level? Will it be the more Ul'dahn - I keep using the Jewel as a point of reference, it seems - "puppet master" sort of deal with a lot of untraceable shady dealings... or is this going to be a bit more of a blatant "Yeah, these are bad guys" thing? I think defining that will help define what folks might be interested in it, either as a part of it or acting in defiance of it.

Chachanji sneezed, kicking up a small powdery cloud of white around him. The Lalafell moved to wipe at his nose with his forearm, but remembered how doing that had just caused this sneeze to quickly follow after the last one. He stared at his upraised arm, where a light snowy dust still clung here and there along with a more sizable alabaster smear near his wrist, before re-purposing the motion into opening the door to his room instead. This left a faint ivory hand-print on the brass knob, to add to the almost imperceptible same-hue trail that led back down and out of the Hourglass. Chachanji's lower lip jutted out slightly into an unconscious pout as Momodi's laughter about his current state rose unbidden to his mind. "What happened to you?" she had asked, one corner of her mouth hiked up into a bemused grin. Chachan had done his best to divest himself of his white coating after the accident, but enough had stubbornly clung to him to catch the eye of the Quicksand's owner when he returned. He had looked himself over, noting where the pearly clumps of powder defiantly held on. He had harrumphed and brushed at some of the larger bits with his hand, sending an artificial snow floating gently to the tavern floor. Momodi was not one to let the matter lie, though, continuing with a lighthearted: "Didja get in a fight with a baker?" Despite his obvious fluster and embarrassment, Chachanji managed to explain why he was suddenly shedding so much alabaster. He had been helping one of the vendors on the Exchange pack up after a day's work. The Hyur woman's wares consisted mostly of culinary supplies like spices and such, including a hefty bag of flour that the Lalafell had wound up toting back to her section of a local warehouse. He had tried to ease it up on top of a crate a fair bit taller than him. It had tipped and, well... That's when he had learned that there had been a tear in that bag. The sudden flour shower and the white cloud that erupted afterward quickly caught the eye of the vendor, who ended up being more upset over the loss of the flour rather than her helper's well-being. Fortunately, such materialistic concerns were easily rectified with gil, and the apologetic Lalafell had departed with his coin pouch quite a bit lighter than he had entered. And his lovely snowy coating. With a smile and a laugh, Momodi had sent him off into the Hourglass to clean up, and that was what lead to him trudging into his room trailing sprinkles of flour behind him. His cheeks felt hot with shame, making his freckles stand out even more beneath his unintended blush alternative. The number of visible freckles had always a good sign of how embarrassed Chachanji was, and his constant toil out under the Thanalan sun had added quite a few more to the collection. A vast dusting of self-disappointment that complemented the light dusting of flour quite nicely. As the Lalafell puttered past the provided bed, Gran looked up lazily from his perch atop the pillow. He gave an inquisitive snort, caught a nose of loose powder, and sneezed once himself. The light pawing at his snout in an attempt to get the tickle out before a second sneeze shook his petite purple person got a small chuckle out of Chachanji, at least. It was in that slightly lightened mood that he caught a glimpse of his own reflection in the inn room window. While most of the flour had been removed through shaking, walking, and brushing, there was still enough hanging on to still be noticeable. Well, that much was obvious considering how quickly Ms. Momodi had picked up on it, but he also noticed that it wasn't just his clothes that had a decent bit of artificial frosting on it. A large amount of flour still clung to his jade-hued hair, giving him a look not unlike a pine tree in winter. And, to the Lalafell's surprise... he kinda liked how it looked. A few bells later, Chachanji was washed up, cheered up, and sporting a less flour-based change to his hair. How festive!

On the fifth day of Starlight, The Twelve bequeath to me: Fiiiiiiive Sultanswoooooooorn, Four Black Mages, Three Grindstone rounds, A two-roll on that sand, And anoooother painful farm partyyy~

Felt that way and still do, doubly so since I haven't actually joined an FC yet. Little Chachan is an alt, after all, and I've been quickly trying to retread ground to get him up to speed and have access to everything. I even made a mad dash for Revanent's Hold well before the MSQ would've sent me there just so I had access to the aetheryte and everything there. I don't know if I've wedged myself into a clique, or am just a hanger-on sitting on the edge eager to hop in when they'll let me, but I've managed to stumble across a few folks that I can RP fairly regularly with. There isn't much of a plot, per se, beyond "hey this happened/got mentioned" last time... which I think lets it be pretty open and free-form... and there hasn't really been any major events (beyond a theft and Chachan's durdling quest to become a hero). I don't know if I've actually managed to "Kool-Aid Man" it, but I've just tried to be a bit more bold about jumping into RP if it seems like something Chachan would home in on. I'm also trying to break my habit about worrying overly-much about bothering folks and poking them via /tell to see if they're up for some RP. So, I suppose the best I can offer is myself as a person to RP with. At least we have Gran as a talking point to start things off with. :blush:

I abide by the Exalted rules of superpowered combat: Perfect defenses trump perfect attacks, full stop. Unless you apply the rule of 'get one's ass beaten one-sidedly until someone talks about the power of friendship'... Shoot. You've cracked Chachan's battle plan. Abort, ABORT.

Hey. Hey Sounsyy. Hey. You... you gonna finish that drink? Hey. It's... it's gonna get cold. Unless it's supposed to be cold. Then it's gonna get warm. Hey. Which is it supposed to be, Sounsyy? Hot or cold? Because whichever it's supposed to be, it's gonna not be. So you should probably drink it. Or give it to me. I could drink it. Can I drink it, Sounsyy? Hey. Sounsyy. Hey. ( This was to be followed by a better creeper shot in my Dark Iron getup, but Sounsyy returned from AFK and ruined the surprise. :angel: )

This looks like something you'd seen in one of those older PC point and click adventure games.

The waiter was suitably startled by the Roegadyn woman's sudden motion, going so far as to seek to protect his soft, unarmored body with a leg and an arm. Not that it would've helped the lad, but instincts are what they are. When he heard bemused commentary rather than whatever sort of tongue-lashing he had been expecting, however, he bashfully returned to a more neutral position. Eyes still cast downward, of course. "Ah, y-you're welcome," he managed, the glint of light on coin finally drawing his attention to something other than the wood and stone beneath his feet. He gingerly took the proffered gil, as if handling it too roughly might cause it to dissolve away like a clod of dirt betwixt his fingertips. He quickly tucked it away on his person before continuing. "We... we will have the rest of your meal out shortly." As Steel turned her attentions back to her compatriots at the table, the waiter made a swift retreat that was quickly noticed by his superior. While Momodi couldn't see the table itself from her angle, she could see the lad beating feet away from it at a decent clip. Her eyes followed him as she folded her arms over her chest, an eyebrow hiked up in a mild curiosity wrought by the mysterious goings-on at that particular table. Though, she quietly corrected herself, the issue could simply be the boy being his normal, flighty self - it was fairly obvious that he needed more hands-on training if he was going to stick it out here at the Quicksand. She made a mental note to pull him aside again later and try to suss out his problems and, hopefully, get them addressed. For now, though, she had to check on the status of those treats for the supposed baby behemoth situated at the unseen table. A supposed baby behemoth who was currently enjoying the ministrations the Roegadyn woman was giving his scalp and messy nest of black hair. Gran's eyes were still on Avis' hand, but the lashing of his tail had quieted quite a bit in a clear sign of his contentment. There was still the occasional tense twitch every now and then, though, to show he was still less than comfortable at Hyur's closeness. Whether he'd actually do something about it was still up in the air.

I personally just use it as a way to "lurk" and observe other RPs, since my character is only using Ninja for its doofy run that I feel fits his character. However, I have seen a couple instances of it being used in RP. One was an individual "counter-pickpocketing" another character who had lifted a gil pouch off someone. She basically just emoted what she was doing, dropped into stealth, walked over to the other person, emoted the actual counter-pickpocketing, and then walked back before de-stealthing. She used the usual non-committal descriptions to allow for the other player to react to it (which their deigned not to so as to be surprised and angry about the missing pouch instead), and it flowed pretty well. The other way was someone stalking another character - which was actually the instance Warren alludes to above. They were first asked if they were actually stalking IC or just OOCly lurking, to avoid any confusion. Then one of the other participants - a miqo'te martial artist - emoted hearing the stalker's approach and kicked up a cloud of dust to try to reveal her. She assented via emote and an interesting conversation followed. Overall, I'm of the feeling that you treat moving in stealth like any other potentially "offensive" (offensive in the combat sense, not "insulting" offensive) action and leave it nebulous enough to allow people to react to it accordingly. Basically, don't emote that you 100% snuck up on that Roe and stole everything but his smallclothes without him noticing and I think you should be fine. Even if the game "says" straight invisibility, I think working with it in this manner should avoid most issues.

I see no downside to this.

Because I'm a massive dork who runs with ideas... Scenario and Setting: Central Thanalan, the Sultantree. 8-Man Raid. Heroing Aid (Extreme) Description: The Little Hero and his Behemoth Buddy are back again! Take up your arms and get ready for the most heroic fight ever! Heroing Aid EX is, like the previous version, about ramping damage throughout the course the the fight. Again, the triggers for the phases are based off his health, with included boosts to move usage and damage rates. However, new mechanics have appeared that require more effort on the part of the players, and he no longer recovers health between phase changes unless noted. Quotes: "A-all right, ready or not, here I come!!" (Introductory Line) "Ser Warren... he's so strong! I wanna sword like him!" (75% Health Marker, Switch to Paladin's Arm) "Ser Croft... nothing shakes her! Gotta be cool 'n collected!" (50% Health Marker, Switch to Paladin's Mind) "Ms. Roen... she's helped me so much. She believes in me, so I gotta!" (25% Health Marker, Switch to Paladin's Heart) "I can't give up! Not here! I'm gonna be a hero!" (1% Marker, Switch to Littlest Hero) "Ouch! Wow! Yer so strong! Are you heroes, too?" (End of Fight Line) Phases: Phase 1 - The Wannabe (100%-75%) The fight is the same as the normal Trial version, with the following changes: [Rabbit Riposte EX] - The attack now applies two debuffs. The first is [shock!], which both silences and pacifies the target for 12 seconds and is Esuna-able. The second is [sunder], a non-dispellable stacking debuff that increases damage by 5% per stack that persists until success or failure of attempt. [Little Hero Charge EX] - Anyone caught in the charge will recieve a stack of [sunder] in addition to the damage dealt. [Tricksy Toss EX] - The length of the stun has been extended to 15 seconds, and the shield also arcs to hit the second-to-last person to cast a healing spell as well. [Gran Slam EX] - Gran's running speed has been increased, and both stuns for 8 seconds and applies an Esuna-able bleed effect. [Gran-Standing EX] - Any non-auto-attack done on Gran during his defensive posture will now result in [Lilmagast] being cast, wiping the raid. Auto-attacks still incur the counterattack and accompanying bleed. Phase 2 - Paladin's Arm (75%-50%) A ghostly image is superimposed over Chachan of his Free Paladin mentor, Warren Castille. He moves along with the Lalafell and strikes when he strikes, adding increased damage to all his attacks and reducing windup times akin to NM 66%. He gains a non-dispellable buff called "Paladin's Arm" that denotes this bonus. Additional changes are as follows: [Little Hero Charge EX] - The straight path is replaced with a memorize-able zigzag pattern. Phase 3 - Paladin's Mind (50%-25%) The ghostly image of Warren is replaced with an image of the Sultansworn Coatleque Crofte. She maintains a stern demeanour and floats effortlessly above him. "Paladin's Arm" is replaced with a new buff called "Paladin's Mind," which denotes a defense increase along with a small percentage of the attack damage being reflected back akin to the elemental Spike spells. No change to windup times, but cooldown times are lowered. Additional changes are as follows: [Little Hero Charge EX] - Chachan now charges twice, the second being a mirrored pattern of the first, leaving memorize-able openings. Phase 4 - Paladin's Heart (25%-1%) The third and final image is that of Roen Deneith, the "Free-Sworn." She trails along behind the Lalafell with fingertips aglow with aether. "Paladin's Mind" is replaced with "Paladin's Heart," which is a defense boost without the spikes effect and a regen. Both windup times and cooldown times are improved, making this akin to NM sub-33%. Addtional changes are as follows: [Little Hero Charge EX] - Chachan now charges three times, with the third charge being a shorter wavelength with smaller safe zones. [Avengeance EX] - Chachanji's chocobo - Avenger - joins the fray, running around much like Gran causing stuns and bleeds but does not Gran-Stand. Occasionally, he will stop and attempt to cast Choco Cure on the Lalafel to recover his HP. This can be interrupted. Final Phase - Littlest Hero (Transition at 1%) Chachanji gains all three previous buffs, as well as recovery to half health. Attack power, windup times, and cooldown times are all improved. Additional changes are as follows: [Littlest Hero Charge EX] - Chachan's charge now hits the entire field and must be mitigated instead of dodged. The increased cooldown time is greater on Littlest Hero Charge than the other moves, meaning an unofficial time limit to down the Lalafell before the stacks of [sunder] are too much to heal through. ~*~ So... uh... yeah. :blush: I've not run any Extremes beyond Garuda (unsuccessfully) and Ultima HM... so I have no idea how balanced this is. I am of the mind to reduce Lilmagast's damage to just be horrifyingly high instead of straight fatal, though.